Samsung faces many challenges

Monday

Aug 11, 2014 at 8:00 AM

Instead of trying to outpace Apple, Samsung needs to gain ground on its competition.

By Rob WitzelColumnist

It’s not how you fall but how you get up. Surely a tired moniker but relevant in the topsy-turvy world of technology where the life cycle of a shiny idea can become tarnished between dawn and dusk. Samsung sidestepped this life lesson years ago during its categorical rise to prominence, yet might get its chance following a string of stalled sales that have left some wondering what the company’s next move might be.Samsung is suffering mightily from a weak showing of its Galaxy S5 smartphone earlier this year. When your flagship model hits the market with half-staff features, you’re sure to get the stink eye from consumers and investors. Predictably, the company recently reported a 20 percent loss of 2014 net profits compared with a year ago. The South Korean manufacturer now must ponder what’s next.The lesson Samsung faces is how to maintain momentum amid unreal expectations. The world wants innovation at an unsustainable rate. It’s like a Category 5 hurricane: It’s technically perfect and powerful but can maintain such composure for only so long before hostile atmospheric conditions begin to break it down.If Apple is Coca Cola, then Samsung is Pepsi and, like Pepsi, Samsung simply must try harder. For previous Galaxy S generations, the company out-hustled and out-innovated Apple. This time around, it fell short. Furthermore it faces all the competitors nipping at its heels while Apple gets to enjoy a comfortable lead. The situation is comparable to a Nascar race when the leader is out front while the next in line must expend a large amount of energy simply blocking and maneuvering the pack of cars looking to slip by.It hasn’t helped Samsung that the tablet market has taken a marked downturn as of late. Globally, tablet sales have sagged by 5 percent. Since Apple and Samsung combine for nearly half of those sales, it serves as another gut check for Samsung’s sales figures.The next several months might not be so rosy either with Apple expected to release a redesigned iPhone 6. Reports suggest two iterations of the device with one being a 4.7-inch screen and the other a 5.5-inch “phablet.” If true, this would take away one of Samsung’s biggest selling points the last few years — bigger screens.Clearly Samsung has a lot to discuss during its board meetings. Instead of trying to outpace Apple, Samsung needs to gain ground on its competition. The Asian markets have blown up with new rivals that are trying to pull the rug out from under competitors with lower prices. Samsung need not play down to its competition with cheap devices; it needs to pull away with better ones.The biggest knock on the Galaxy S5 is its plastic body that is perceived by some to be cheap. Samsung needs to steal a page from the Apple playbook and design its flagship device to be a visual showstopper. It might even consider moving away from the Android platform. It has served the company well over the years, but market fatigue leaves consumers with fewer features to differentiate between the entire Android landscape. The company has toyed with its in-house Tizen OS that is Linux based. Perhaps it’s time to differentiate its line by cutting cords with Google, which is essentially its competition with its own Nexus line of products.Samsung also needs to get out in front of the smartwatch realm ahead of Apple and others. With five “Gear” models already gracing the market, nobody can blame Samsung for not trying. Still, these devices don’t stand out. It appears Samsung has employed the Galaxy theory into watches, which favors quantity over quality. The problem is Motorola and Google are both set to release strong offerings, and Apple will, of course, steal all the headlines if it indeed releases an iWatch later this year.